This weeks “In my view” from Steve Ladyman in the Thanet Extra, contains the usual Labour tosh, Ladyman is wittering on about the “tough decisions” concentrating on university education.
I reckon Ladyman could do with a bit of education himself, reading this latest propaganda it’s clear that the member for Thanet South seems to be under the impression that a Labour government wrestled for some long time before introducing tuition fees, “in the end” the government grasped the nettle.
For your education Ladyman as early as the 15th of May 1997 it was clear that your colleague Blunkett* was on his way to ending free education some few short days of Labour taking office, done and dusted about a year later.
Apart from candyfloss spending on rebuilding of schools in Kent, our secondary education still actively discriminate against poorer children, the system of grammar education is corrupted by the fact some parents can afford to coach their children to pass the the Kent Test a scandal that Labour has done nothing it rectify.
Perhaps Labour MP’s like Ladyman, could forego their “free dinners” (taxpayer funded MP food allowance for those struggling on 60 grand plus) and help the poorest kids.
*See Independent from 15th May 1997
Equal education for all. Abolish grammar schools. I went to secondary school and can't understand why in these PC times it is still referred thus. It implies a lower form of education, i.e. 'secondary' when in fact the children should be receiving the best available. Where I work most of my colleagues went to Grammar School and are quite surprised when I tell them my background. I'm just moving job and onto £110K per year, not bad for someone from a lower stream of education and no degree too.
ReplyDeleteI spent some time over the weekend in the company of a chap married to a teacher and he tells me the current round of candy floss rebuilding is in fact not what theschools want but has been watered down from grand schemes and bears o resembalence to what is needed but if not agreed the money dissappears the only ones gaining out of this are the architects and in fact the prices are so tight some builders have gone to the wall.Once again the county has to go for the lowest price so low in fact the job cant be done for the price and ends up costing more cos no one will step into finish the job without bumping the price up
ReplyDeleteforgot to add st Georges in fact demolished buildings just a few years old to qualify for this round of cash is that good financial sense ????????
ReplyDeleteTo be fair to Dr Ladyman, I know he is an absolute opponent of grammar schools, so that link Tony within your post is a little unfair to him. You and I have debated the pros andcons of grammar schools several times on your blog, so I will not go over old ground again.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it is true to say that Ladymans labour party have presided over the most radical funding change to further education. In a generation, we have moved from a grants based culture, which Dr Ladyman and others benefitted from, to a loans and payment culture, where theuniversities are more concerned with debt collection and fees than real educational research.
Now, with failing schools all around the country not producing the level of entrant wanted in certain areas, the labour solution is to provide easier passage for students from underperforming schools, not fix the underperformance and maintain standards.
The disaster this will be is hidden by recession decisions by students facing no work, and plumping for university in ever larger numbers as an option. The universities themselves are now describing those who do not get in this year as a 'lost generation' in order to force government to take more students at higher fees through an ever declining standard of the sausage mill style of education. It will be another way to hide unemployment, and one can see university vice chancellors rubbing their hands with glee - and probably chanting 'fresh meat' in the senior common room.
No amount of padding, political correctness, or weasel wording can hide the fact that new generations of students are being saddled with ever larger debts, based on the false premise that the jobs they will go to in the future will require degrees. All that has happened is jobs that used to be filled without degrees are now being filled by degree qualified personnel; forcing those who chose not to go with harder and fewer choices.
Labour have presided over the most fundamental and radical change to higher education in history, and there is no proof it has been successful in either improviung access, or improving standards. Like so much else this government has done, it is a con, spun out of all proportion to the truths involved. Dr Ladyman is not a bad chap; but his support, and collusion with, this sort of poilcy is reason enough to vote him out.
Just educate them to go bankrupt as soon as they graduate.
ReplyDeleteThe fact they have not thought of it themselves is testament to what a p-ss poor education they are up to their eyes in debt to fund.
Richard,
ReplyDeleteI am not a 100% sure, but I think the govt slipped a criteria in excluding student debts from bankruptcy a littel while ago!
Labour's support of education in Kent cant have been all that bad with recent record levels of exam results and KCC claiming the credit.
ReplyDeleteTo quote from KCC's press release of 27th August:
"KCC Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education, Sarah Hohler, said: "I am thoroughly delighted by the county's GCSE performance. Year on year we continue to improve - testament to the quality of education and teaching in our schools. I am truly proud of Kent's achievements and those of the thousands of students who got their results today."
The trouble has been over many mnay years of politicians tinkering with education. It should be left to the professionals who know what they are doing.
ReplyDeleteIt is a long while from evening classes but a lot of my generation went to them to get further skills to help get a job at the end of it.
"Slipped a criterion" Chris ?
ReplyDeleteI first heard the Fat Lady (who pleaded guilty I think today to attending hare coursing events) say that is what students shouls do. She is a barrister and maybe the government jumped a bit quick before too many graduates start using her recipe book ?
I heard her on a radio debate against a nutritionist. And the fat lady absolutely floored her. She introduced the stats for prescription of anti depressants and questioned whether in fact they are a poor substitute for meat chemicals. IE A lack of quality meat in the diet has an effect on brain chemistry.
Then she revealed that she has a choleseterol count of three (on her gamey meaty dairy creamy diet)
Glorious stuff. The height weight charts seem to have derived from a post war study into healthy people still underweight from rationing.
Way to go may be to make the govt go to County Court to recover student debt and oblige them to bankrupt the debtor ?
If I find the bankruptcy answer I will email it to you
Cheers
Spend yer money on food, without guilt, and do not starve in order to repay the government the fees for a bogus degree education.
ReplyDeleteApparently you pay it now by credit card and then go bankrupt on the credit card.
ReplyDelete